EL CAJON, Calif. — The El Cajon Police Department is giving the public an inside look at how officers deal with people experiencing homelessness.
It's a side of the homeless issue we rarely see.
They released a documentary detailing their daily interactions.
The 35-minute documentary follows officers from the department's Special Enforcement Unit.
They're the ones who specialize in homeless-related calls.
“We respond to about 70,000 calls for service a year. About 8,000 of those are homeless related,” said Mike Moulton, El Cajon’s Police Chief.
Chief Moulton told CBS 8 that the documentary was created in response to complaints from the public, many of whom said the department isn't doing enough.
Moulton said he wants the public to understand their hands are often tied.
"We could clearly see there was a lot of miscommunication, misconceptions, misinformation about what our role was in addressing the homeless issue," said Moulton.
The documentary shows officers contact people experiencing homelessness, all of whom agreed to be filmed, for violations such as trespassing and drug use.
They can also be seen offering shelter and other resources, which most decline.
What you won't see are many arrests.
Moulton blames Proposition 47, legislation voters approved in 2014, which reduces the consequences for certain crimes.
"An arrest for a non-violent felony in California now is getting a ticket much like you would if you run a stop sign," said Moulton.
Moulton says even if someone gets a ticket daily and doesn't show up to court, they still won't be arrested.
"So, they could get one day after day and they're not going to end up in custody," said Moulton.
That includes for violations such as theft of less than $950, as well as open drug use.
“If somebody walked into this room right now smoking fentanyl, we could not take them to jail. We'd have to write them a ticket,” said Moulton.
Over the past several years, the county has invested millions of dollars into solving the homeless crisis, much of which is geared toward adding shelter space and affordable housing.
But, Chief Moulton argues what's happening on our streets has little to do with housing.
"The primary component that we're seeing and dealing with is mental health-related issues or drug abuse related issues and people just refusing services," said Moulton.
So, what is the solution?
Moulton says for starters, laws need to change, adding until they do, this problem won't be fixed.
“The public safety legislation that we've passed in the last ten years is detrimental to public safety. And then we act surprised when we have this environment of lawlessness. We shouldn't be surprised,” said Moulton.
"Yes, there's the bad seeds out there. But, that percentage once again is so small, relatively compared to the larger issue," said Teresa Smith, founder of Dreams for Change, a nonprofit that focuses on helping low income and homeless families.
Smith watched the documentary and says while she agrees officers can't do much in certain situations, she believes the root of the issue is housing, as well as the person who's making that initial contact.
"Housing is definitely the core and the key issue to this issue. We know it takes multiple engagements to get them to the point where they're ready and open for that assistance. But where we run into the issue is, is that as they come to us and say, we're ready, we can't find that detox bed for them, or that specific service. We need to start sending more outreach workers more, you know, people that can really connect, they can really work with the substance use, they can really work with the mental health issue, because we know as clients we often hear when they see that police uniform. It's a no for them because it's not the right person," said Smith.
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